High School
by Asagi Tsuki
Summary: To make up for his mistake earlier on, Sasuke went to his school alone to check on it, but the plan backfired, and he ended up in much more trouble. Who's the one who kept catching him redhanded? And can he keep his secret? discontinued
1. Chapter 1

**High School**

By: Asagi Tsuki

Summary: all of a sudden, transfer students and teachers are coming to the school named Seishi Gakuen. The strange thing is, they seem strangely connected, and they like to wander off. Who are they really?

A/N: main plot taken from the story I wrote for fun, the storyline is different, better than the one I wrote for fun, I suppsoe. I hope you enjoy this, aside from the major OOCness…

Warning: AU, major OOCness, shounen ai, no OCs that hold important roles, so no flames saying that I make MSs, sorry, but I don't

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

**Chapter One**

It was Monday. The worst day ever for the students who hated school. The students of Seishi Gakuen had just finished their weekly ceremony at the yard in front of the building, and were now inside their own classrooms, having homeroom lesson with their homeroom teachers, who usually are kind people. Okay, usually is the key word here, but fortunately, the homeroom teacher of this particular class, the 1-1 class, is a kind man.

The students were chatting about their activity at the weekend in small groups of students as the homeroom teacher hadn't entered the class yet. They heard that there were going to be transfer students that day, and that their homeroom teacher was currently talking to the new students about rules, and all those shit. Strange thing is, why did they transfer at this time? It wasn't even the start of another academic year.

"Class," the homeroom teacher called as he slid the sliding door open. He could hear the noise even from outside the cubicle classroom because they were so noisy. "Pay attention, please," he requested as he walked over to the teacher's desk, and faced the students. He was a man with kind and fatherly look –though he has a scar that went across his nose-, and a kind aura enveloped him. He stood there for a while until the classroom quieted down, and then continued. "There are two new students today," he announced, and turned towards the doorway. "Please introduce yourselves,"

When he had finished his request, the new students took it as their cue to come in and introduce themselves. They were one boy and one girl. The girl has short shoulder-length raven black hair, tall and lean body –not too tall though-, boyish figure, small pinkish lips, obsidian eyes, and pale complexion. In short, she looked like a porcelain doll that is so fragile that it must be handled with extra care.

The other was a boy with long dark brown hair that went past his mid back. How he got longer hair than the girl, no one knew. He has whitish or silvery eyes that could creep anyone out if they stare into them long enough, and rather girlish features, though he still looked masculine. His complexion is rather tanned, and he is taller than the girl by two inches or so.

"I am Yamazaki Sakura," the girl introduced herself as she bowed down to greet the other students in this class. Her voice is rather baritone like for a girl, but none had minded it. She is cute, and the rather baritone voice suited her well –in their opinions at least-. She looked around and stared at the boy.

"And I am Yamazaki Neji," the boy introduced himself with a bow as well. His voice is only a bit more bass-like than Sakura's, but all in all, their voice almost sounded alike. "I'm her non-identical twin brother," he added, and several 'oohs' could be heard throughout the whole classroom for a few seconds.

"Please, take a seat over there," the homeroom teacher said as he pointed two seats, one at each back corner of the room. As if it was an unwritten rule, Sakura went to take the one at the left, near the window, while Neji took the right, opposite of the window. Sakura liked the window, and he'd do almost anything for his little twin sister, even if it meant he'd have to suffer some disadvantages.

Sakura pulled the chair out and plopped herself down in the seat, before she sighed a bit. It was tiring to wake up extra early to prepare things first just because they had just gotten into a new school. What's the difference between this school and that school, anyway? They seem to be the same for her.

"Hey," a blond boy who sat beside her called as he waved a bit to gain her attention. His spiky blond locks looked like it defied gravity –because it was longer than ordinary spiky-haired people's hair-, and his sky blue eyes looked like they weren't natural, but they _were_ natural. There were three whisker marks on each cheek, and she had to guess whether they were natural, or hand-made. His features looked almost like a fox's, and she couldn't tell just why. "Sakura-chan, right? I'm Uzumaki Naruto, you can call me Naruto if you want," he said as he grinned an almost vulpine grin to the girl who merely stared at him, wondering about his offer, double-thinking it.

"No," Sakura merely said. "Thanks for the offer though, Uzumaki-san," she said, and then went on looking at the schedule she had just received earlier. Next one is mathematics. A smile made its way to her lips as she stared at the word for a long time, as if trying to memorize it or to spell the word one letter by one letter, cherishing the feel of pure bliss that surged through her body when she saw the word.

"Something wrong with math?" Naruto asked as he saw the almost dreamy look on Sakura's face. She quickly snapped out of her reverie and put the schedule back to her bag, and took the math books out and put them neatly on her desk. She pulled the knee-length skirt –she ordered the knee-length one although every female students in this school wear skirts that only went through the middle of their thighs- down to smoothen it down.

"Nothing," she mumbled. She also straightened down her light brown sweater that she wore over her white shirt, and put her elbow on the desk, before she leaned her chin on her fist, staring out of the window, to the bright blue sky that was cloudless at that time of day, or maybe that day was simply cloudless.

"Right," their homeroom teacher called, and most of the students' attention was reverted back to him who was standing in front of the classroom, books held in his left hand, his right hand straightening his tie down. "I'll be going now, and your new math teacher is coming in next. Be sure to be kind to him," he said, and then went out of the sliding door, and closed the door behind him, his footsteps echoing through the corridor of the school building.

"Hah," she snorted at the sentence 'be sure to be kind to him'. She shook her head for a while, "He doesn't need anyone to be kind to him," she added to herself, and continued staring out of the window. Unbeknownst to her, the boy beside her heard what she had said, though she had said it very softly and lowly, as if not wanting other people to hear it, because she was just mumbling to herself about it.

The math teacher entered the classroom not long after that, and the classroom fell into a fit of silence. None of them dared to talk without his permission. Although he looked rather calm and kind, there was this majestic aura around him that made no one dare to defy him. His face was almost expressionless, but every word that came out of his mouth sounded like an order, a command that no one had the chance to not obey to.

He walked over to the teacher's desk, put his books down, and sat down on the chair, flipping the stray raven strands of his hair to the back. He has long raven black hair that almost reached the mid of his back, and black obsidian eyes, just like Sakura's, just… blacker. There were visible lines under his eyes that weren't bags, yet weren't wrinkles. No one knew what it was exactly, and they didn't dare ask.

"Good morning," he said in greeting, and the students of the class chorused a greeting as a reply. He looked around the room, and stopped for a while when his eyes fell upon two particular figures that sat at each of the back corner, staring back at him with equal intensity while the others did not dare to do the same thing.

"I suppose that the previous math teacher has taught you all about function," he stated as he flipped the journal book open, and the students nodded their head in answer. "Okay, so today we're going to learn quadratic function," he said, and the students took out their math books and placed them on the desk in front of them. They acted like a robot when they were near him, or in his classes for a reason no one knew why.

"Now open page ninety eight," he ordered, and sounds of flips of pages were heard echoing throughout the room as the students busily flipped the book open. He wasn't the type of the strict teacher, but they just knew that they shouldn't screw around with him, or else they'd pay.

He got down from his desk and started walking around the room, stopping once in a while to check if the students had opened the proper page he had told them to open. He stopped longer at the right back corner where Neji was seated, before he continued to walk around, and finally walk pass the left back corner, which was the last part of the classroom he hadn't checked. He walked slowly, but majestically, and regally.

"Meet me at my office after school," he said softly as he walked pass Sakura's seat, and Sakura tapped the desk once with her mechanic pencil as a way to say yes. She smiled a bit as he smiled, and walked back to the teacher's desk, sitting in the seat and opening his book to the page he had pointed before, and started explaining the equations and the formulas for the quadratic function which was rather different from the linear function they had learned a while before. It was actually far harder than the linear function.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

By the lunch break, Sakura was quite popular. She is the cool type of girl who almost looked like a boy and acted like one, but she still is cute, and has a beautiful face which some girls didn't want to admit. Her tall and lean figure is another positive point that made her popular, but her attitude is what they liked the best. She is not too nice, but not that cruel and impolite either. She acted cool, nonchalant, but she still is kind and helpful to people in need.

It was almost a pain in the ass for her to walk through the five-meter wide room just to approach her brother and ask him out to the cafeteria to meet up with their friends who had transferred to this school as well and eat lunch together. They were split into different classrooms by the school managers, and that was why they could only meet at certain times and under some particular circumstances.

"Neji-nii-san," Sakura called as she tugged at his arm. "Let's go now," she asked, and he nodded. They walked out of the classroom side by side, and students from other classrooms stared at them with disbelief looks, before some of their friends told them that they are non-identical twins.

They arrived at the cafeteria not long afterwards, and by a matter of seconds, had gathered up with their friends who had noticed them coming from the main door of the cafeteria, and not the backdoor that connected the kitchen with the backyard of the school building.

There were five of them in total. The other three were all boys. One with short messy spiky dark brown hair that seemed so messed up, and funny face paint that looked like reversed triangle under each eye. His fangs are sharper than the other teeth, but his nails were the normal length.

The second boy was a rather plump boy with round body, apple cheeks, and short unruly light brown hair that seemed to jut out everywhere at different angles. He had pink spiral tattoos on each cheek of his, and his eyes are narrow –or were they narrowed by him manually, no one knew-.

The last boy was a boy with a rather slumped figure. He has short raven black hair that was tied into a ponytail. He had a bored expression across his face all the time, and he stood rather slumped, like he was ready to go to sleep anytime, anywhere. There were no other significant features in him.

"Good afternoon, Shikamaru-kun, Chouji-kun, and Kiba-kun," Sakura greeted as she saw the three of them walking towards them, each of them holding onto two pieces of bread that were covered with plastic. "How was class today?" she asked as they walked nearer and nearer.

"Fine," Shikamaru answered as he extended his right hand and offered the other piece of bread he was holding to Neji. "It's for you," he said, and Neji gratefully accepted it after he nodded his head to show his gratefulness and his appreciation for the food he had bought him.

"This is for you," Kiba said as he gave the other piece of bread he was holding as well to Sakura who accepted it after nodding her head at him and muttering a low 'thank you' at him. She looked around, and noticed that there were no empty seats left in the cafeteria, and they couldn't eat there.

"What about the rooftop?" Chouji suggested. "There were no people there," he added, and the rest of them nodded their head in agreement. They'd be more secure there, because no people were there, and they could talk about things they used to talk about with no worries.

They went to the rooftop, and shortly after that, they could be seen sitting in a circle on the rooftop, eating their share of lunch that was a bit too little for a day, but enough to hold back their hunger until school is over. Then, they started to talk about things they usually talked about.

"So Hyuuga," Shikamaru called as he folded the plastic bag of the piece of bread he had finished and put it down on the floor, letting wind blew it somewhere else. "Is it fine in your classroom?" he asked, his eyes drooped a bit with laziness and nonchalant-ness, but his ears were still perked with curiosity.

"Fine enough," Neji replied as he continued to eat his share of bread. The one who had finished their share of bread so far is only Shikamaru. The others were busy talking when he was busy eating, and so, they hadn't finished their meals yet. "And Itachi-san has come to our class," he added.

"Is that true, Sasuke?" Shikamaru asked as he turned to look at Sakura who was still eating her chicken bread. She looked up at him for a while, before she continued to munch on the piece of bread in her mouth before she swallowed it gently –and almost elegantly as well-.

"Aniki? Yes, he did come," Sakura nodded her head, and waited before she took another bite out of the piece of bread, in case Shikamaru wanted to talk about something else. "And he had called me to his office later on. I wonder what he's going to tell me, I haven't heard from Jiraiya-san anyway," she added.

"Whew, it was unordinary for you to speak so much, Sasuke," Kiba teased, and was bonked in the head by Sakura. "Yeah, I haven't heard from Jiraiya-san as well," he added, not wanting another bonk from her, "I wonder if he's doing fine just like Itachi-san," he added.

And the chatter went on as they discussed the lessons they were having in their own respective classrooms before the lunch break. It was mostly fine, but none of them had had mathematics except Sakura and Neji, and none had had physical education as well. It was simply not in their schedule for Monday.

Meanwhile, unbeknownst to them, a figure was lying on top of the small building on the rooftop, where the stairs that leads down was located. His shiny blond hair shone below the sunlight, and his ears were perked with interest as he listened on the conversation for a while, wondering about several key words and interesting facts that he had learned along the way of the conversation.

_Hyuuga? Sasuke? Aniki? What does that mean?_

**End of Chapter One**


	2. Chapter 2

**High School**

By: Asagi Tsuki

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

**Chapter Two**

The sun was shining full force on the school building, making some students who are unfortunate enough block the sunlight with a textbook so they could write on their notebook, or vice versa. It was only several minutes after the end of the lunch break, which was at one o'clock, yet the sun was so high up.

Sakura wasn't an exception. She was unfortunate enough to sit near the window, and she had to bring up her physics textbook to block the sunlight before she could take notes in peace. Problem is, her hand is starting to become weary after holding it up for approximately fifteen minutes.

She glared at her notebook instead of the sun, because she knew it would hurt her eyes, and she wasn't dumb enough to do something that she knew would hurt her. She looked over to her twin brother, and mouthed the question whether she could borrow her notes later or not. Neji nodded his head in agreement, and she placed her pen down beside her notebook and stared at the blackboard instead.

Occasionally, she'd be turning around to stare at the blond boy who had talked to her first thing this morning when she sensed him staring at her, but when she stared back, he'd avert his gaze somewhere else, as if he couldn't bring himself to look at her. Was she that disgusting?

"What's the matter?" she asked, and she could swear that he nearly squeaked. He stared at her for a while, as if contemplating something, before he shook his head and muttered 'nothing' under his breath, not so loud that the teacher could hear him saying it, at least.

She stared, but decided that it was nothing of importance, and so, she had not taken knowledge of the doubtful, shy looks that were directed to her from everywhere, and the doubtful, accusing look that was directed to her from the certain blond boy who sat right beside her.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The school had finally ended. The bell that signaled the end of the school had finally rung, and the students quickly got up and put their things away into their bag before they rushed outside of the classroom, and out of the school building, back to their respective homes –or apartments, for those who owned one-.

Sakura got up and asked Neji to go home earlier with Shikamaru, Chouji, and Kiba while she'd stay behind for a little while, going to the math teacher's office which Itachi stayed in for the meantime, while he still worked as a math teacher in the school, and talked about things he wanted to talk about.

"Try not to take too long," Neji said as he warned. He slung bag over his shoulder, and stared at his twin little sister. "And be careful, I think something wrong is happening," he added as he looked downwards, his silvery eyes staring at the equally white tile floor. "I hope your cover doesn't get blown," he added silently.

She fell into silence. It was always her who got her cover blown, and not the others. They didn't cover themselves too much, only she did, and that's why only her cover could get blown. She knew they wouldn't blame her if it happened, because they knew that it wasn't solely her fault, but still, she felt guilty. Guilty for not being helpful enough to help them go through all this. "I know, I'll try," she said comfortingly as she patted the shoulder of her twin older brother, and smiled slightly at him, trying to assure him that everything would be alright.

"Be more careful around that blond boy," he added, and she let her hand slid down back to her side. "The blond boy who sat beside you. He seems to know something that he shouldn't," he explained. He had noticed the stares he threw her, and he knew what that had meant. He wanted to know whether that _something_ that he had just known is true or not. That's the only cause as to why he acted like that before.

"I see," Sakura nodded her head. "Do not worry over it, Neji-nii-san, I'll take care of it if something does happen," she said determinedly, and she smiled slightly at him, before she slung her bag over her shoulder, and waved at him, then walked to the math teacher's office which was situated at the other end of the school building, in the row of offices for the teachers, with the principal room at the end.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Neji walked towards the school gate, where three figures stood, waiting for him. He smiled wryly at them, and they merely stared at her, not knowing what had happened. Neji himself wasn't quite sure of what had happened, but he could roughly guess that that blond boy had eavesdropped on them and learned about the fact that he wasn't a Yamazaki, but a Hyuuga, and that Sakura is actually Uchiha Sasuke.

"Something has gone wrong," it was more like a statement than a question. Shikamaru was the best at reading facial expression, and he could tell what someone was thinking about or if there was something troubling one's mind by studying their facial expression. He looked over to stare at the two others, before he stared back at Neji, the others did the same thing –facing him, then back to Neji-.

"It's about Sasuke," Neji said in a voice barely above a whisper. The yard was already deserted at that time, but he didn't dare repeat the same mistake. "His cover is blown," he added solemnly. Now he cursed the eyes he was gifted with. He was the only one who knew it because of them.

"Blown? But when?" Kiba asked, his tone clearly sounded like a surprised person's. He moved forward and confronted Neji. He knew that Neji'd be the one right because he had those eyes, but he wouldn't want to believe him just like that. Especially in things like this. He hoped that Neji got it wrong.

"Lunch break," Neji stated as he stared solemnly at the ground below his feet. "I noticed it when it was too late. Someone was on the top of the rooftop," he added. "Now we can only wish that he doesn't hear what he doesn't need to," he finished, and the others merely stared.

Shikamaru patted his shoulder. "Do not worry," he said reassuringly. "Even if he hears what he shouldn't, I will take full responsibility of it," he added, and the others looked at him. "I was the one who first called you Hyuuga, and that's why he knew," he explained shortly.

"For the time being," Kiba started, playing with the hem of his grayish furry jacket that covered most of his upper body part, and continued, "We can only hope that Sasuke is able to finish this without getting us in trouble. And," he added suddenly when the others were starting to relax down a bit, "We can hope that the person who eavesdropped on us is dependable enough to be told this secret if Sasuke can't handle this,"

The others stared at him. For once, he actually said something right.

"Let's go home then, no need to worry over him too much," Chouji suggested as he turned around and walked over to the gate, standing right beside it to wait for the three others to catch up. "Sasuke will handle this well. I believe in him," he added, and the others nodded in agreement.

They then walked down the pavement towards their own houses in silence.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

It was already empty inside of the school building even though it was only thirty minutes after the bell had rung. How the students managed to get out of school and get back home so quickly amazed her –and amused her probably-, but she did not laugh at it. It wasn't something worth laughing anyway.

The noise of balls bouncing and others were heard from the outside. She stopped on her trek for a while to stare out of the window, and to the courts at the school yard. The members of the clubs were out there practicing, so the school building was empty. It wasn't that hot out there, but still a bit hot. She looked at every club that was there for a little more while, before she continued her walk towards the office.

There was a section in the school building that was specially reserved for the teachers. She knew about it approximately one day after she had registered here –she was told by Itachi-. At that section, were two lines of teachers' offices –the infirmary was there as well-, and at the very end, were the principal's room, and the principal's secretary's room. They were the ones who held the highest authority in the school.

She walked, making sure that no teacher saw her, and stopped right in front of the math teacher's office. She positioned the strap of her bag that was slung over her shoulder and flipped her hair back. She raised her hand, and turned the knob without knocking, because she knew that the math teacher would know it was her or the others if she didn't knock on the door like the other students did –if they didn't, they'd get a detention-.

"Sasuke," Itachi called as he looked out of the window. The window was semi-mirror, so he could see her reflection on the window and recognized her as soon as she stepped in. "Sit down," he added, and Sakura nodded her head, walking over to the couch after closing the door behind her and locking it. She put her bag down beside her on the couch, and stared to the front, where Itachi stood backing her.

"Did this day go well?" Itachi asked as he turned around. He walked over, and sat down on the couch beside Sakura. He raised a hand and placed it on her shoulder before he pulled her closer into an embrace. "Is there something troubling your mind?" he asked, almost psychiatrist-like.

"I don't really know," Sakura answered, sitting still as she let herself being embraced by her real older brother. "Neji-nii-san says that someone might know who I really am, but… he's not too sure himself," she explained, feeling the need to tell him about what Neji had told her earlier before she went to his office as she was told.

"Neji said that?" Itachi asked softly, and Sakura nodded her head. He kept silent for a while. If Neji had said that, then it probably would turn out true. "Anyone in your class interests you?" he asked, trying to change the topic of the conversation. He hadn't called her for that kind of talk.

"No," Sakura answered simply.

"I see," Itachi nodded his head understandingly. "The investigation will be started tomorrow. We do not get a head start from _them_ because they entered at the same time," he added as he stared at the floor. Sakura was a bit mentally disturbed. No, she isn't crazy. She was just a bit traumatized, and she has a phobia –or several phobias, no one really knew for sure. Not even the great medic they knew-.

"So they have entered here," Sakura mumbled. She stopped for a while, remembering the one person she loathed so much. She couldn't even bear to remember his face, but she was always haunted by it. Worse, she even got nightmares about him almost every night, and so, she had become restless for the past few weeks.

"Ssh," Itachi ruffled her hair and pulled her closer, before he kissed the top of her head. "Don't trouble yourself with that thought," he said almost hypnotizingly.

"Okay," she said obediently.

"I'll come over to your house this Saturday," he said. "Be there when I come," he added with a visible smile gracing his stoic features.

"_Our_ house, you mean?" Sakura asked back. "No matter what will happen, it will always remain the Uchiha residence, and _our_ house," she said. She didn't like the idea of him moving out to an apartment in the first place and she certainly didn't like him taking decision on his own. He was planning on giving the authority over the residence to her, much to her protest. It was days before the procedure would be finished and she would be the sole owner of the residence. It was big, and one could call it a residence, not a mere house.

"Okay, sorry for that," Itachi chuckled lowly. He was grateful that he had her as a younger sibling. She was protective of her kin, especially after the incident five years ago. She was loyal, and affectionate as well. She'd do almost anything to make them be comfortable in most situations, especially when they were sick.

"I'll take care of everything before Saturday," she said lowly, almost inaudibly. "Would you like to stay until Sunday or will you just go home at that very day?" she asked.

"I'll stay," Itachi said. He let go of her, and walked over to his desk to take his bag. "I'll walk you home today, the others have gone home earlier, haven't they?" he asked, and offered. He had seen the four friends walk over the gate of the school building and to their own houses through the window earlier.

"Thanks," she mumbled. She got up, and slung her bag over her shoulder again. She felt slightly better now, after another session. Itachi had studied psychology when he was still at university –all that for her, actually- and now, he has become her personal psychologist or psychiatrist, your choice.

She stood still for a while, before she jumped over the couch, and opened the lock and the door hastily. She banged the door open, but it was too late. When she looked out, to the corridor outside of the office, she saw no one.

"What's wrong?" Itachi asked as he approached her who was standing at the doorway of his office, her right hand on the knob of the door. "Someone is standing there?" he asked as he looked down, and noticed a footprint on the floor that contradicted Sakura's footprint from earlier. The floor was mopped not long ago, and it was still wet when she came. It was no wonder that that _someone_ had left a footprint.

"Yeah," Sakura nodded her head. She felt disappointed, and angry at herself. Angry for not being able to spot him –she could tell by the size of the footprint- earlier on, and angry for letting him know most of the things. But she had made sure that no one was at the school building before, so who did it?

"It's alright," Itachi mumbled, but she wasn't satisfied.

Now she knew how Neji must've felt when he noticed something, but was too late when he noticed it. She felt the exact same as him now.

Meanwhile, at the end of the corridor, a boy stood, panting hardly after he ran from the front of the office when she had noticed him there.

**End of Chapter Two**


	3. Chapter 3

**High School**

By: Asagi Tsuki

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

**Chapter Three**

It was almost five in the afternoon. The sun had started to set, and the sky had turned from golden to purplish dark. It was minutes before the sky turned completely dark, and the street lamps would all be turned on so that the pedestrians wouldn't trip over things while they were walking.

Two people walked out of the school building. It was already deserted by now. The members of the extracurricular clubs had all gone home by now, and only the security guards remained. They were to stay on guard throughout the entire day, changing shifts with each other.

They walked out of the school area without being noticed by the security guard that was currently having guard duty –he was at the back of the school, checking whether there was a student skipping class staying there or not- and walked back home in companionable silence. They weren't talkative people to start with, anyway, so unnecessary talks weren't for them.

The cool breeze of mid autumn swept by. It was one of the reasons why the students in Seishi Gakuen wondered why they transferred at this time. It was only several months past the start of the academic year. Normally, people would only transfer school at the start of the academic year, or at the end of the academic year. Sometimes, at the middle of the academic year. But not at one quarter of the academic year.

"Sasuke," the taller man called as he patted the younger girl's head lightly, almost soothingly. "Are you still thinking about it?" he asked, smiling gently down at his younger sibling who glared at the pathway they were walking on as if it was the one eavesdropping on them.

"If I say no, will you believe me?" Sakura asked as she continued to stare at the pathway restlessly. She was still thinking about the one eavesdropping on them. It was true. Was it the one who had known about her true identity as well? There was a big possibility, but one cannot be so sure.

"No," Itachi sighed. He let his hand fall on her left shoulder, and pulled her closer to his side. "Forget it, even if he knows, what is he going to do with it?" he asked, trying to reassure his younger sibling that everything would be alright. She was easily stressed out, and that's why the others took extra care of her.

"He?" Sakura asked as she shifted her gaze from the pathway to her older brother. How did he know it was a he?

"You're too stressed out, Sasuke," Itachi shook his head, "Relax down a bit, or you won't be able to think clearly," he added, and Sakura frowned. Was she that frustrated to the point that she would miss details like that? She didn't usually do that.

"The footprints," Sakura stated. "They were the footprints of the shoes only male students wear," she added when she finally remembered the shape of the footprints they found on the wet floor in front of the math teacher's room earlier that day. "I'm sorry," she added.

"No need to be sorry," Itachi said. "Didn't the others say it wasn't your fault?" he asked as he looked down at his younger kin. She fidgeted with her bag a bit, before she stood upright once again.

"But still," she mumbled. She didn't want to be a burden. Her trauma and her phobias had been a big burden for the others for the past missions, yet they didn't protest. She was the best at analytical skill, stealth, lock-picking, and herbal knowledge. They needed her for their missions. Up until now, she believed that it was the sole reason why she was still kept in the group, and not simply being kicked out.

"Still thinking about your phobias?" Itachi asked, and Sakura merely nodded. It wasn't a surprise for her if he could read her like an open book. He had studied psychology as a side-learning for the past few years only to take care of her, and that's why he could tell what she was thinking.

Itachi kept silent. Up until now, he didn't really know what she is afraid of. He only knew that she is traumatized because of the incident years ago, and because of the same incident, she had some phobias. But what phobias, he didn't know. No one really knew. She had never shown fear towards anything lately, so they couldn't tell what she is afraid of.

They arrived at the Uchiha residence not long afterwards. It was a big wooden house that looked like an ancient Japanese house, but still good nonetheless. It was enclosed by wooden fence, and in front of it, was a big wooden gate. Just right beside the gate, was the board with the writing 'Uchiha' on it.

"I'll be going now then," Itachi said as he patted Sakura's shoulder repeatedly, as if to assure her that everything will be alright. "Do not think about the things that happened today too much, just rest well and prepare for tomorrow," he added, and with that said, he turned around and walked away towards the silhouette of a tall building not so far from the residence. It was the apartment building where he currently resided.

Sakura merely stared at the retreating figure until it was out of sight, before she sighed, repositioned her bag, and stood upright full of determination. "Sorry, but I can't keep quiet if this goes on," she said, and then walked inside the wooden gate, into the environment of the Uchiha residence.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Sakura walked out of the bathroom of her house slowly, a white towel dangling around her neck loosely like an open necklace. She was wearing purple long-sleeved turtleneck and short black shorts. Her shoulder length raven black hair clung loosely around her porcelain face, and she looked up front with a bored expression.

She put the towel on the towel rack, and took a black hairpin, before she carefully slipped it to her hair. She took three needles, smeared them with sleeping medicine, and slipped it to her shorts, careful not to strike her own skin with them. When she thought she was ready, she walked over to the hallway and put on her shoes.

Though the residence was like an ancient Japanese house, the interior was pretty much the same with the houses in general. There were sofas, coffee table, TV set, telephone, and a fan in the living room. The bathroom was like the bathroom in general, not the one using wooden bathtub. The bedroom was the one using tatami though, but no one ever protested. Not even their cousins who stayed overnight.

She walked out of the door and locked it. She then walked over the stone pathway to the wooden gate, walked out of it and closed it behind her. She took a deep breath, and, as silently as possible, ran back to the school building she was at just hours ago.

She looked around, and noticed that the gates were closed. She walked closer and inspected it, before she raised her right foot to step on the gate, and jump over it, landing on the inner side of the school building. She looked around, and rushed inside when she saw no security guards present.

The main door was still open. The security guard was still there. She took a deep breath, and looked around, trying to find a safe and closest route to the principal's room. She rushed past the corridor silently, past the many classrooms, and finally arrived at the area where the teachers' rooms were located.

"Who's there?" a deep voice asked, and she stopped at the sound. She turned around, and saw a security guard walking towards her. So it was the one having guard duty at that time. His shift had just started, and would end approximately three or four hours later.

"I left my book at the principal's room," she said when the security guard started to approach her. The tall man stood, towering her with his tall figure. She looked up to stare at the guard right at his eyes, and waited for his reaction.

"Were you given a detention?" he asked as he narrowed his eyes at her. It was dark, and he couldn't really make out her figures. He wasn't even sure if it was a boy or a girl.

"Not really," she said, and carefully took a needle out of her shorts. She threw it right to one of the veins in his neck, and he fell into an instant slumber, falling onto the floor with a dull thud.

"Sorry," she mumbled as she dragged him and rested him on the wall. She took the needle out, and put it at the other pocket of her shorts, before she continued on her walk to the principal's room.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Sasuke?" knocks sounded in front of the door as a hand pounded on the wooden gate rather impatiently. Apparently, the guest had waited for a good fifteen minutes and still, the door wasn't opened for him yet.

"Is he not here?" a boy with short spiky black hair that was tied into a rather messy ponytail asked as he stared at his companion who looked rather anxious. His silvery eyes were shining with anxiety he had never seen in his eyes before, except at the times where his teammates were at dangerous situations.

"I don't think he's here," Neji finally said as he sighed. He stopped pounding on the gate, and sighed, his mind reeling over. Where would she be at this kind of time? If she wanted to go shopping, she'd done that before seven.

"Do you think… he's trying to get a head start?" Shikamaru asked, and Neji looked at him as if warning him. "I was only stating my opinion," he added when he noticed the look Neji was giving him.

"I know that," Neji looked down at the pathway. Ever since the incident, he had looked over her just like Itachi had looked over her. The others had done the same to her as well, but she thought that it was just because they needed her skills and abilities. He had never had a sibling, and so, when he had met her, he was happy. It was as if she was his own younger sibling that he has to take care of.

"Are we going to check or something?" Shikamaru asked. He felt the same way towards her because he too, has no sibling. Although he has never shown it or has never voiced it so vocally, the others could tell that he cared about her. In fact, he is one of the ones who cared about her the most.

"We are," Neji nodded his head, and with that said and done, they went to their school to check.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

She didn't turn the lamp on. It would raise unnecessary suspicion since the guards wouldn't dare enter the principal's room whatever happens. It was bright enough inside to let her see everything inside clear enough, and so, she didn't need the lamp to help her go through the cabinets and desks and shelves.

She searched thoroughly throughout the entire room, carefully searching through it so to not move anything from its original place. She had looked between every folders, every books, every files, and nearly everything, yet she didn't find anything extraordinary, and she didn't find what she had been searching for.

With a heavy sigh, she left the principal's room and locked the door behind her again. The security guard was still asleep. Good. He wouldn't remember anything at the time he woke up, and even if he did, it'd be too hard for him to tell who she is, since it was too dark for him.

She stopped abruptly as she stared in shock. There it was again. In front of the principal's room, she noticed footprints. She turned around, and on the glass on the door, she saw handprints and fog. She also saw strands of blond hair on the floor right next to the footprints.

The existence of all those meant that there was someone watching her for a long time. And she didn't even realize it. Has she really become that blunt over the past few weeks without missions?

She punched the wall beside her with her right fist angrily, and gritted her teeth.

"Damn it,"

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Neji and Shikamaru arrived at their school not long afterwards. They jumped over the gate and walked in. They suspected that the first place she would search in first is the principal's room, since it's the best place to hide things. Upon seeing the sleeping guard near the principal's room, their suspicion is cleared. She's really there.

"Sasuke?" Neji called as he saw the figure leaning against the wall of the principal's room, head bowed, eyes cast downwards and the looks in her eyes blank. "Sasuke? What's wrong?" he asked as he approached the figure.

"Neji-nii-san? Shikamaru too. What are you doing here?" she asked when she noticed the two walking towards her. She looked at them with such impassiveness that Neji was almost scared to look at her.

"What are _you_ doing here?" Shikamaru asked as he stepped forward. "Come on, let's just go home," he said and reached for her hand, before he tugged her along, and Neji could only walk beside them.

They walked out of the school environment, leaving the sleeping guard all by himself, and walked back to the Uchiha residence. When they had reached it, the three went inside and rested in the living room, sitting idly on the couches, waiting for Sakura to calm down and tell them what had happened in the school building before they arrived.

"Why?" she asked softly, and the two nearly missed it.

"Why what?" Neji asked as he moved over to sit closer to her.

"Why is it that I am the one always screwing up?" she asked again, barely louder, but enough for the two to catch it this time. Hot fresh tears started to stream down her from her eyes down her cheeks as she bit her lower lip, blaming herself mentally for being so careless.

Shikamaru kept silent. Neji kept silent. What had happened in the school? Did someone find her? Was it the one he saw on the rooftop eavesdropping on them at lunch break?

"It's okay," Neji said finally as he pulled her into an embrace and rubbed her back soothingly. "It's okay, we'll manage somehow," he added reassuringly.

"Neji's right," Shikamaru added. "We'll manage, like we always did," he finished.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled as she kept on crying, and the two could only keep silent, waiting until she calmed herself down.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

"Where were you?" a young woman asked as a boy walked inside his house and took off his shoes before he carelessly threw it near the stack of shoes there.

"Just walking around," he replied shortly before he walked upstairs and into his own room. Once inside, he stared at his bed, and narrowed his eyes.

'Who is she really?'

**End of Chapter Three**


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